Cutover mechanisms for strand-reeling installations



Feb. 14, 1961 H. R. JACOBS, JR

CUTOVER MECHANISMS FOR STRAND-REELING INSTALLATIONS /A/Vf/V T012 AIC@ JCO/Sfs/E Feb. 14, 1961 H. R. JACOBS, JR

CUTOVER MECHANISMS FOR STRAND-REELING INSTALLATIONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 27, 1960 United States Patent O CUTOVER MECHANISMS FOR STRAND-REELING INSTALLATIONS Harry R. Jacobs, Jr., Omaha, Nebr., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 27, 1960, Ser. No. 5,015

6 Claims. (Cl. 242-25) The present invention relates generally to cutover mechanisms for strand-reeling installations, and more particularly to improvements in the automatic cutover mechanisms provided in high-speed reeling installations for wire.

Accordingly, the general object of the invention is to provide new and improved cutover mechanisms for strand-reeling installations. Y

Another object of the invention is to provide improvements in the automatic cutover mechanisms provided in high speed reeling installations for wire. Y

In the manufacture of strand and Wire, particularly insulated Wire, it is necessary to provide reeling installations capable of continuously taking up an unbroken length of wire advancing from an extruder at speeds in excess of 2700 feet per minute. It is customary in such installations to provide a pair of spaced, axially aligned, rotary take-up reels, together with a traversing distributor for guiding the advancing wire back and forth across the winding surface of either reel. When one reel is full, or otherwise contains a predetermined length of wire thereon as indicated by a footage counter, the distributor is indexed from a position opposite to the full reel to a position opposite to the other reel, which is empty. In such installations, it is also common practice to provide an automatic cutover mechanism including a pair of toothed snagger plates mounted one for rotation with each reel adjacent to the inner end thereof. The snagger plates are designed to catch and grip the wire extending between the reels after the distributor indexes and to carry the wire across a cutter mounted between the plates to sever the strand so that winding may commence on the empty reel.

A specific object of the invention is to provide improvements in such cutover mechanisms so as to facilitate the cutover operation and especially so as to allow the reels to be driven at different rotational speeds during the cutover operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide improvements in certain guide mechanisms disclosed in applicants joint copending application with R. F. Minehart and I. F. Sheehan, Jr., Serial No. 812,994, tiled May 13, 1959, whereby the snagger plates engage the wire at markedly diiferent times so as to facilitate operation with the reels' rotating at different speeds.

The foregoing and other objects are accomplished, according to certain features of the invention, by providing a composite curved guide member of a particular design. The guide member includes a rst portion that covers both snagger plates and is so disposed as to support lthe strand or wire clear of the snagger plates during and shortly after the time that the distributor indexes from the full reel to the empty reel. The guide member also includes a second portion that extends from the iirst portion toward the cutter and between the snagger plates. TheV second portion is so constructed and arranged that the strand is pulledv of of the lirst portion and engaged ICC first by the full-reel snagger plate and later by the emptyreel snagger plate.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a speciiic embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary front elevation of a strandreeling installation including a cutover mechanism according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section, taken generally along the line 2-2 of Fig. l in the direction of the arrows;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are fragmentary views similar to Fig. i, illustrating successive stages in the transfer operation; and

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view, somewhat similar to Fig. 2, illustrating certain important relationships of the invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and in particular to Figs. l and 2, a composite guide member in accordance with the invention is designated generally by the numeral 1t] and is shown in combination with a generally conventional strand-reeling installation designated generally by the numeral 11. The installation 11 is designed for taking up an advancing strand, such as a Continuous length of insulated wire 12 being fed at high speed from a plastics extruder by a capstan, alternately on a pair of take-up reels designated generally by the numerals 13 and 14.

The reels 13 and 14 are mounted in spaced, axially aligned relationship and are rotated, respectively, by a pair of motors 16 and 17. In practice, the operative reel 13 or 14 is always driven at such a rotational speed that the peripheral speed of the winding surface is substantially equal to the speed of advancement of the wire 12, hereinafter designated as the line speed, so as to reel in the advancing wire at substantially the same speed that it is being supplied by the capstan.

As the wire 12 builds up on the operative reel, the rotational speed must be continuously decreased so that the peripheral speed of the winding surface remains equal to line speed. For this purpose, the motors 16 and 17 are variable-speed motors and are governed in conventional fashion by an accumulator (not shown) positioned between the capstan and the reels. Whenever the reel tends to rotate too fast, the accumulator takesup slack to close a switch and slow down the reel; whereas, if the reel tends to rotate too slowly, an excess of slack accumulates -and another switch is closed to speed up the reel.

A traversing distributor 18 of any conventional construction is provided for guiding the wire 12 back and forth across the winding surface of the operative take-up reel so that the wire winds in a plurality of layers of closely packed helical turns until the particular reel is filled or otherwise contains aV predetermined length of the wire thereon. This condition is usually sensed by a footage counter (not shown) which actuates an indexing mechanism, designated generally by the numeral 19, for moving the distributor 18 to the right or left as viewed in Fig. l from a position opposite to the reel which is then full to a position opposite to the reel which is then empty. In Fig. l of the drawings, it should be assumed that the reel 13 has just been filled with a predetermined length of the wire 12 (to a diameter approximately twice that of a core 21 of the empty reel 14), and the distributor 18 has been indexed or cut over from right to left from a phantom-line position opposite to the full reel 13 to the solid-line position opposite to the empty reel 14 in preparation for the beginning of winding on that reel.

ln order to enable automatic cutover between the reels, the full reel 1.3Y is equipped with a generally cir- Patented F eb. 14, 1961 cularv snagger plate designated generally by the numeral 22 which is releasably mounted on an inner reel tiang'e' 23 for rotation therewith. The empty reel 14 is similarly equipped with a snagger plate 24 mounted` on an inner. ange 26 thereof. The snagger plates 22 an`d'24" are alike and, as viewedvin Fig. 2, each plate includes a plurality of snagger teeth 27-27` extending beyond the periphery of the inner iianges 23Y and 26 and projecting.

in the direction of rotation of the associatedreel. The snagger plates 22 and 24 are designed to catchv and grip the length of wire 12`extending1betweenV the reels vat some time after the distributor 1S has been indexed from the full reel to the empty reel.

A cutter 23 is mounted between the reels 13 and '14 and is designed to sever the wire gripped by the snagger plates 22'and 24 as the snagger plates carrythe Vwire. therepast. After the wire has been cut, the empty-reel snagger plate 24 still grips thewire and carries the 'cut wire end in a counterclockwisedirectionr as viewed in Fig;

2 around the empty reel 14 whereby, shortly after the cutting operation, the wire wraps around the core 21 ofthe empty reel and begins to wind thereon incon;-

ventional fashion. T he line of distribution to a full-reel is indicated in Figs.`2 and 7 by the phantom line F, while the line 'of distribution to an empty reel is indicated bythe phantom line E.

Since the winding diameter of the full reel 13 is approxi mately double the diameter of the core 21 of the empty reel 14, the rotational speed ofthe full reel 13 isV approximately one-half of the optimum rotational speed for the empty reel 14 if the empty reel is to begin taking up the wire at line speed so as to avoid excessive slack and the formation of loops and loose ends as the empty reel begins Winding. No prior cutover mechanism known to applicant, including that disclosed in his joint copending application, is effective to provide smooth and effective cutover with the empty reel running at a speed substantially faster than the full reel.

The composite curved guide member is secured to the top of a housing, designated generally by the numeral The composite guide member 10 also includes a second portion,`preferab1y a second or lower curved guide 32, that extends from the upper guide 31 toward the cutter 28 and between the snagger plates 22 and 24. The lower guide 32 is so constructed and arranged that the wire is pulled off of the upper guide 31 and engaged first by theY full-reel snagger plate 22 and later by the empty-reel snagger plate 24. Although the guide member 10'is' preferredly composed of two distinct plates 31 and 32,

it would also be practical to form the member 10 in` one piece.

According to a preferred constructionillustrated vin the drawings, the upper guideV 31 is a thin curved plate formed according to the are of a circle whereby the outer surface of the guideV 31 has a radius of approximately one-half inch greater than the radius of the circle denedv by the rotating snagger teeth. In addition, the upper guide 31 is so positioned that the outer surface'thereof is spaced approximately one-half inch beyond the circle de-V fined by the snagger teeth. The width ofthe upperguide 31 is slightly greater than thedistance between the snaggerv plates 22 and 24'so thatthe guide 31 covers both'snagf ger plates but not the inner reel anges23 and 25. Prefer;

ably, the upper guard 31 covers an arc of approximately' 80, extending from a iixedI mounting on' the lhousing 30ste fa vvpoint aboutV 5 abovethe horizontal as iviewedin'- 4 I Fig. 2. With this construction and arrangement, the wire 12 laysacross the upper guard 31 for a short time after the distributor 18 shifts, as illustrated in Fig. l, and may not be engaged by either snagger plate so long as the wire rests on the guide 31.

The exact position of the upper guide 31 will vary somewhat from one installation to another, the crucial factor being that it is so arranged with respect to the distributor 1S as to intercept the wire 12 being shifted from one reel to the other so as to preclude the snagger teeth 27-27 from engaging the wire until a selected later time. With this arrangement, Vthe speed of cutover is no longer critical, nor is the position of the distributor with respect to the full reel at the time of indexing. Thus, the distributor may be at once shifted from any position with respect to the full reel to any position with respect to the empty reel and at any reasonable speed.

According to a preferred construction,` the lower guide 32 is also a thin curved plate having a width approximately'one inch less than the distance between the snagger plates 22 and 24 so that the guide 32 may iit freely in the' space between the snagger plates out of contact therewith. The guide 32 is mounted at its upper end to the inner surface of the lower end of the guide 3l and extends over an arc of approximately 67? with the free end thereof'terminating at a point near the cutter 28. The lower guide 32 tapers inward uniformly from its juncture with the upper guard 31 so that the outer surface thereof crosses the circle defined by the snagger teeth. The upper or joined end of the guide 32 is slightly' beyond the circle defined by the snagger teeth, whereas the lower or free end thereof extends to a point approximately one-half inch within that circle, as illustrated in Fig. 2. With this construction, the snagger teeth 27---27v Operation When the reel 13 becomes full, as indicated in Fig. 1, a transfer operation is initiated and the distributor 18 is indexed from the phantom-line position to'the solidline position opposite to the empty reel 14. The wire 12 continues winding on the full reel 13 for a short time thereafter, and a length of wire extending between the full reel 13 and the distributor 18 lays across the upper guide 31 and is not engaged by either snagger plate 22'or 24 due to the construction and arrangement of the upper guide 31 previously described. After the distributor indexes, the wire 12 winds on the reel 13 at a relatively wide angle leading toward the inner ange 23 thereof. This condition s approximately that illustrated in Fig. 1.

`As the wire 12 winds over'to and contacts the inner flange 23 of the full reel 13, the friction between the wireV and the rotating flange 23 pulls the wire off of the 'lowerl end of the upper guide 31 on the full-reel side so that the wire lies across the guides 31 and 32 at the angle indicated in Fig. 3.

stantially immediately engaged by one of the oncoming teeth 27-27 of the full-reel snagger plate 22. This# engagement pulls the wire 12 olf of the upper guide 31 onto the lower guide 32 Von the empty-reel side, as indicated in Fig. 4. Shortly thereafter, as viewed in Fig. 5, one of the teeth 27-27 of the empty-reel snagger plate 24 engages the wire 12 and pulls it around the empty reel 14. The wire 12 is then carried by both snagger plates 22 and 24 across the cutter 28 to sever thewire at the midpoint between the reels 13 and 14. Shortly after cutting, the empty-reel snagger plate 24 carries the cut w1re-end` to' a' point where the length of wire between the vthe empty reel 14, as illustrated in Fig. 6r

An important feature of the transfer operation just described is that the particular construction and arrangement of the guides 31 and 32 allows the empty-reel snagger plate 22 to engage the wire 12 substantially later than the time that the full-reel snagger plate 24 engages the wire so as to facilitate cutover when the empty reel 14 is rotated substantially faster than the full reel 13. With this construction, the point of gripping on the empty-reel side is circumferentially behind the point of gripping on the full-reel side but the gripping point on the emptyreel side tends.to catch up since the snagger plate 24 rotates faster than the snagger plate 22. Thus, the originally taut span of wire which is gripped between the two snagger plates 22 and 24 tends to slacken upon further rotation of. the snagger plates so as not to apply excessive stresses to the wire.

As viewed in Fig. 2, the lower plate 32 is so disposed with respect to the cutter 28 that the empty-reel snagger plate 24 engages the Wire 12 just prior to advancement of the wire to the cutter 28. However, some clearance must be alowed to compensate for the spacing between the snagger teeth 27-27 so that the wire will always be engaged by the empty-reel snagger plate 24 prior to advancement to the cutter 28. With this construction, the wire 12 is engaged by both snagger plates 22 and 24 for as short a time as is practical prior to the cutting operation.

Referring now to the schematic illustration of Fig. 7, the apparatus is shown slightly modified with the cutter 28 directly below the reels. The circle defined by the snagger teeth 27-27 is indicated by the letter A and the approximate preferred point of gripping by the empty-reel snagger plate 24 is indicated by the letter B. The point B is shortly before the cutter 28 and as near as is practical to the point where the operable snagger tooth 27 is traveling horizontally. The motion of a rotating snagger tooth 27 at the point B may be represented by two vector components, a horizontal component X and a vertical component Y. When the two snagger plates 22 and 24 both engage the wire 12 and are rotating at different speeds, it has been determined that the vertical velocity vector Y tends to stretch the wire causing most of the wire failures that occur during the cutover operation. In contrast with this, the horizontal or X vector merely tends to pivot the wire and imparts very little stress thereto.

Accordingly, the cutter 28 and guide member 10 are so arranged with respect to the distributor 18 that the engaging tooth of the empty-reel snagger plate 24 travels as nearly as possible to the horizontal at the Vtime of engagement with the wire so that the vector Y will be as small as possible and there will be a minimum stretching force applied to the wire 12.

It is also highly desirable to arrange the lower guide 32 and the cutter 28 with respect to the distributor 18 so that the empty-reel snagger plate 24 grips the wire 12 and the wire is cut just prior to the time when the wire 12 is tangent to the empty-reel core 21, as indicated by the line E in Fig. 7. With this arrangement, the wire 12 1s gripped on the empty-reel side at a point that is nearly horizontal so as to minimize the stretching effect of the Y vector and the wire begins winding on the empty reel 13 immediately after cutting.

While one specific embodiment of the invention has been described in detail hereinabove, it will be obvious that various modifications may be made from the specific details described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: 1. ln combination with a strand-reeling installation of the type including a pair of spaced, axially aligned, rotary take-up reels; a traversing distributor for guiding a strand to either reel, the distributor being indexed from a position opposite to a full reel to a position vopposite to an empty reel when it is desired to cut over between the reels; a pair of toothed snagger plates mounted one for rotation with each reel adjacent to the inner end thereof, the snagger plates being designed to catch and grip the strand extending between the reels after the distributor indexes from the full reel to the empty reel; and a cutter mounted between the reels so as to sever the strand gripped by the snagger plates: an improved cutover mechanism for such a strand-reeling installation, which includes a composite curved guide member, said guide member having a first portion that covers both snagger plates and is so disposed as to support the strand clear of the snagger plates during and shortly after the time that the distributor indexes from the full reel to the empty reel, said guide member also having a second portion that is designed to support the strand and extends from the first portion toward the cutter and between the snagger plates, the second portion being so constructed and arranged that the strand is pulled off of the first portion and is engaged first by the full-reel snagger plate and later by the empty-reel snagger plate.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the second portion of the guide member is so. disposed with respect to the cutter that the empty-reel snagger plate grips the strand just prior to advancement of the strand to the cutter.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the second portion of the guide member is so disposed with respect to the distributor that the empty-reel snagger plate grips the strand just prior to the time when the strand is tangent to the core of the empty reel.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the cutter and guide member are so arranged with respect to the distributor that the engaging tooth of the empty-reel snagger plate travels as nearly as possible to the horizontal at the time of engagement with the strand, whereby the empty reel may be rotated at a speed substantially faster than the full reel at the time of cutover while stretching the vstrand extending between the snagger plates to a minimum degree.

5. In combination with a strand-reeling installation of the type including a pair of spaced, axially aligned, fianged, rotary take-up reels; a traversing distributor for guiding a strand to either reel, the distributor being indexed from a position opposite to a full reel to a position opposite to an empty reel when it is desired to cut over between the reels; a pair of toothed snagger plates mounted one for rotation with each reel beyond the inner fiange thereof, the snagger plates being designed to catch and grip the strand extending between the reels after the distributor indexes from the full reel to the empty reel; and a cutter mounted between the reels so as to sever the strand gripped by the snagger plates: an improved cutover mechanism for such a strand-reeling installation, which includes a first curved guide having a width slightly greater than the distance between the snagger plates and mounted beyond the snagger plates so as to cover both snagger plates but not the inner flanges of the reels, and a second curved guide having a width less than the distance between the snagger plates, said second guide being mounted at one end to said rst guide with a free end thereof extending toward the cutter, said second guide tapering inward from said first guide so as to cross the circle defined by the snagger teeth; said guides being so arranged with respect to the distributor and the cutter that a strand being transferred from the full reel to the empty reel (1) lays over said first guide and is not engaged by either snagger plate during and shortly after the time that the distributor indexes; (2) is pulled off of said first guide onto said second guide on the full-reel side due to friction as the strand winds on the full reel to the point where it engages the inner flange of the full reel, whereupon the strand is engaged by the full-reel snagger plate; and (3) is pulled off of said first guide onto said second guide on the empty-ree1 side due to the engagement of the full-reel snagger plate, whereupon .thestrand isengaged thefenipty-'reel nagger plateso that the two snagger plates carry the strand tothe cutter. Y Y i" 6. The apparatus-as recited in claim 5 wherein the outer surface of the first guide is formed according to an arc o f a circle having a radius approximately one-half inch greater than the radius of the circle Vdefined by the snagger teeth, wherein the rst guide` is so positioned that the outer surface thereof is spaced approximately one-half inch beyond the circle defined by the snagger 10 2,779,545

teeth, and wherein the second guide is tapered uniformly so that the outer surface Vof the end thereof joined to the rst guide is slightly beyond their circle dened'by the snagger teeth and-so that thefree end thereof extends y to a point approximately one-half inch within the circle defined by the snagger teeth. Y

-ReferencesvCited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hauck et al. Jan. 29, 1957 

